Packing



March 18, 1930.

-'P. H. GRANGER PACKING Filed Sept. 23, 1929 INVENTOR. Pgu/ 6/6) BY yer ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UHTED TTES PAUL H. GRANGER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALTFORNIA PACKING Application filed September 23, Serial No. 394,451,

This invention relates to improvements in packing and more particularly to improve ments in packing of the type generally known as cup leathers. In some classes of oil well tools, it is necessary to form a fluid tight seal between the tool and the walls of the casing while the tool is being raised or lowered through distances of possibly several thou sand feet. As the inside of the casing is usually rough and frequently indented, the wear on the packing is very severe, sometimes preventing it functioning at all. One type of tool to which the foregoing applies particularly is my Apparatus for locating leaks, as disclosed in my application filed June 26, 1928, Ser. No. 288,519. Other tools to which it could be applied with advantage, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

It is an object of this invention to provide a packing having a guiding meanswhich will prevent the packing catching in the joints of the well piping and insure the packing moving readily past any dents or other obstruction in the bore of the pipe. It is another object of this invention to provide a packing with a wear resisting contact surface for engaging the bore of the piping to prevent damage to the packing during its travel, the wear resisting contact surface preferably being adapted to readily yield locally for passing any obstruction.

These objects together with other objects and corresponding accomplishments are ob tained by means of the embodiment of my in- 'vention illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing my improved packing as applied to one type of well tool; Fig. 2 is a side eleva- 40 tion to an enlarged scale showing the guiding means on the packing; and Fig. 3 is a section as seen on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the well tool is denoted generally by 5 and is shown as having two packing cups 6, al though there may be any number of these. The tool comprises a mandrel 7 having cup followers 8 and spacing sleeves 9 adapted to clamp the central portions of the cups. The

parts may be maintained in assembled relation by permanently fixing the uppermost follower 8 to the mandrel 7 and threading a nut 10 onto the lower end of the mandrel against the lowermost spacing sleeve 9.

Packing cups 6 are shown as opening downwardly and are preferably outwardly flared so as-to normally approximately engage the wall of a bore (not shown) at their greatest diameter, and beyond this greatest diameter the free edges of the cups preferably taper or are coned inwardly to form contracted lips 12, which are so inclined as to insure the cups moving downwardly through the bore without catching in the oints or being held by obstructions such as may result from irregularities or indentations in the walls thereof.

The ends of the cups 6 are protected by wear resisting means which are arranged to assist in guiding the edges of the cups past obstructions in the bore and are adapted to yield locally for passing any appreciable obstruction. The wear resisting means comprises a plurality of triangular elements 14 of metal or the like suitably fixed to the exterior of lips 12 as by rivets 15 with their bases closely adjacent and disposed all the way around the circumference of the packing cup. The downwardly extending pointed ends extend below lips 12 and are inclined inwardly in accordance with the taper thereof, thus they will ride up and over any obstruction on the wall of the bore. The flexibility of the cup is not impaired as the elements 14: are relatively short in a circumferential direction and are attached by a single row of rivets along an altitude of each triangle, this altitude being parallel to the axis of the cup.

What I claim is 1. Packing means comprising a cup shaped member of flexible material having a wear resisting guiding means at its free edge, said means comprising a plurality of tapering elements secured to said free edge.

2. Packing means comprising a cup shaped member of expansible material having its free edge tapering inwardly and a wear resisting guiding means on said tapering edge comprising a plurality of tapering elements secured to said tapering edge with their tapering ends projecting beyond said cup.

r 3. Packing means comprising a cup shaped member of expansible material having its free edge tapering inwardly and a Wear resisting guiding means on said edge comprising I a plurality of flat triangular shapedv elements secured on said edge, the plane of said ele- 'ments coinciding With said taper, the points of said triangles extending beyond, and in- Wardly from said ledge, said elements-being secured to said cup only along a line parallel to the axis of said cup, whereby the flexibility v on said cup is not impairedp: s' I 7 In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 17th day of September, 1929. V r V I s PAUL H. GRANGER. 

